The Asian shrub Lonicera maackii (Amur honeysuckle) is now common in many secondary forests in southwestern Ohio and adjacent states. We found lower species richness and abundance in plots (0.5 m²) placed below crowns of L. maackii than in plots placed away: all species (53% lower richness and 63% lower cover), tree seedlings with canopy potential (−41% richness and −68% density) and seed bud bank (−34% richness and −33% density). Moreover, most individual taxa had lower abundance below L. maackii: 86% of herbs, 100% of trees and 56% of seed bud bank taxa. In addition, richness of all species and richness and density of tree seedlings decreased in forests with longer residence time of L. maackii.